


Full

by griiffn



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fluff, Language, Love, Love Confessions, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Requited Love, Romance, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-20
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-16 09:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1343191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/griiffn/pseuds/griiffn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The 57th expedition was a horrific failure. You wander the halls of the Scouting Legion HQ reflecting on recent events, when you hear a beautiful song that tears you away from your sadness. Little do you know, you're about to find what you didn't even know you were looking for all along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Full

You shivered and wrapped your Scouting Legion cloak more tightly around your shoulders. You weren't sure what was more the cause of your sudden discomfort - the cold November air that inevitably seeped its way into the HQ, or the echo caused by your footfalls in the stone dormitory hallway. Normally, you wouldn't mind the quiet. Between the new recruits you train daily and the seemingly endless stream of tasks your receive from Irvin, you would relish the few moments of peace you could manage to find. Tonight, though, the quiet only served as a painful reminder to the many previously-occupied dorm rooms than now were empty.

You passed one of these rooms, and stopped short, your eyes glued to the wooden door. You recognized this one as belonging to Erd Gin. He was one of four members of Squad Levi, and one of the most capable scouts in the Legion. He was an amazing fighter and had a titan kill record to rival your own, and was growing to be an excellent leader. He seemed like a genuinely good guy. You didn't know him too well, never having worked with him directly, but you would often see him out on the training field, joking and laughing with the other members of his team.

You would never see any of them laugh ever again. You tore your eyes from the lonely door and continued to wander.

The mission to capture the female titan today was a horrific failure. You could see that from early on; almost as soon as you left Wall Rose. You should have, as you had one of the best seats in the house - you led the group of elite scouts on the right flank which, along with a hundred other solders among the flank, were decimated when the Female led her hoard of deviants straight to you. You managed to be one of the few who escaped, although you would hardly call it 'unscathed'. You would forever carry scars, both mentally and physically, from the day's events.

In all your time with the Legion, you had never encountered such a catastrophe. Even now if you closed your eyes, you could see the faces of your squad mates. If you stopped moving or thinking for too long, you could hear the sounds of their dying screams. That's why you walked. Sleeping was not an option, not tonight, and you needed to keep your mind occupied. Not that walking by the rooms of your dead friends and comrades was much of a better option.

You let out a soft sob and felt your legs collapse and your back hit the hard wall. You slid to the cold stone ground, pulling your knees up to your chest and resting your head in your cut and bruised hands. You cried silently for what seemed like forever. As far as you knew, it may as well have been.

And then you heard it.

A low sound. It came from somewhere down the hall to your right. It was full of sorrow and mourning, but was also very beautiful. The sound touched your heart and stilled your sobs. After a few seconds, your realized the sound was that of someone humming a sad, sad song. Intrigued and touched, you pulled yourself to your feet and followed the man's voice.

A ways down the hallway, you came to a door cracked open, the warm light from inside falling upon the stones of the corridor. The song abruptly stopped with a sharp intake of breath. And then silence.

Carefully, you silenced your steps and approached the door, slightly alarmed. Once you reached the heavy wooden door, you peaked inside.

Lance Corporal Levi was sitting on the edge of his bed, his leg stretched out at an awkward angle. He continually was bending over and trying to reach it, or would try to lift it to himself, but would then hiss in pain and be back to where he started.

Was he injured? You shyly tapped on the door to announce your presence to him. He looked up in alarm and tensed, but visibly relaxed and let his shoulders slump when he saw it was only you.

He sighed. "[Surname]. Come in. I need you to assist me."

You nodded. "Yes, sir." You slowly opened the door a bit wider and slid into the warm, clean room.

"Shut the door behind you. I don't need anyone else seeing me like this." His voice sounded tense, but didn't have the bite to it that it usually had when speaking to you or any of his other subordinates.

You did as he said and then made your way over to your superior, kneeling in front of the slender man. You took in the simplicity of the room. Along the far wall were two windows and a desk, littered with papers that you could tell were organized in a style you could only identify as 'Levi'. His bed was against the right wall, and was covered simply in clean, white sheets. Apart from that and other basic items of furniture such as a table, some chairs, and a pair of bedside tables, there was really nothing remarkable about it. You got to work untying his boot for him. "What happened?" you asked softly.

He snorted. "Ackerman doesn't know how to obey orders, the brat. That's what happened," he snapped.

You looked up at him nervously, and then continued to work on his boot, tugging some of the laces free. "Was it Eren?"

He sighed again, and folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah. She was determined to save him _and_ kill the Female. I told her simply to distract the titan, but she didn't listen. She saw an opening to go for the nape, and went for it." He paused a moment, thinking back. "Stupid girl. The Female hardened her fist and took a swing at her. I tried to kick it away, but -" He grunted and put his arms behind him to support his weight on the bed. "I should have just let the bitch have her."

You looked at him and smiled gently. "You don't mean that. What you did saved Mikasa's life."

He snorted again. "What I did was get myself injured."

"What you did was amazing."

He looked and you sharply and you blushed. You'd never spoken to him like that before, although you'd thought these things plenty of times. You'd known Levi for a while now, since you both joined the Scouting Legion around five years ago. However, you were a fresh recruit and he had just been delivered from the Undercity by none other than Erwin himself. Admittedly, you were distrustful and doubtful of him at first. You weren't the only one. It wasn't until your first mission beyond the walls, when you saw him and his two friends take down that deviant, that you began to change your mind. This man was _capable_.

Over the years, you and he had developed a mutual respect for one another. Although from time to time you would tease him or join up with Hanji and commence "Operation Annoy Shorty" (even if he was still an inch taller than you). He would always be quick to fire back with insults of his own. Your relationship was never tense, though. It was just how things were. Between the three of you and Mike, you made up the four best squad leaders in the Scouting Legion.

This week he acted strangely, though, even before the mission. You were both aware of the plan to capture the Female Titan beforehand, as you were both accounted for among the military when the wall was broken five years ago. And still, he refused to so much as look at you. All week there was no teasing, no greetings, no farewells. He acted as if he didn't even notice your existence. Normally, before you set out, you would wish him luck and he would scoff at you and say luck had nothing to do with it. There was none of that this time around.

You both sat in silence with your thoughts. Finally, you undid the last tie on his boot. You looked up at him, asking permission. He looked at you tensely and nodded. Gently, you slid one hand under his knee and took hold of his heel with the other. As slowly as you could, you began to slide the boot off his leg. He hissed in pain and gripped the wrist that steadied his knee. You froze and he pulled his hand away as quickly as if he'd touched a hot stove. You collected yourself and continued to slowly remove his boot.

Once his foot was free of the offending leather, you gasped quietly and glared at him. "Corporal! This should have been taken to the infirmary, immediately."

He stuck his nose up at you and turned his head. "There was no need, and they are busy enough as it is with the other wounded."

"Your leg is seriously injured, Corporal, and -"

"Levi."

He spoke so softly you thought you hadn't heard him. "What, sir?"

His steel grey eyes softened. "Call me Levi. At least when it's just the two of us." As soon as the softness appeared, it was gone again. "I've had enough of this 'Corporal' shit for one day."

You nodded your head, slightly shocked. "Okay... Levi. But we really should get you to -"

"No."

"Without proper treatment, your leg will -"

"Then _you_ treat it."

"Stop interrupting me," you said sharply. "I don't have any medical training, at all. You need to see the doctor."

"I'm trained. I can tell you what to do."

You sighed. "Why don't you want to go to infirmary so badly?"

He looked at you steadily. "Because people call me 'Humanity's Strongest'."

You cocked your head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

He made a frustrated sound, and looked away from you. "If they think I'm humanity's strongest soldier, and I'm out of commission due to a fucking sprained ankle, what are they supposed to think?" he almost yelled. His shoulders sagged and his arms fell to his sides. "They have enough to worry about without seeing me like this. Humanity's Strongest, not even able to walk on his own."

You considered what he said for a moment. Then, you nodded. "Okay."

He looked up at you, surprise barely evident on his usually stoic face. "Okay?"

You smiled gently at him. "Okay. Tell me what to do."

~

You smiled to yourself and sat back on your heels, admiring your handiwork. "All done. Does that feel more comfortable?"

Levi leaned over and observed the bandaging. "It does. Thank you."

You nodded your head at him and stood up, turning towards the door. "Then I won't bother you any longer. Goodnight, Levi."

"Wait, [Name]." Levi called, leaning over and grabbing your wrist. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. This was the first time you ever recalled him using your first name. You decided that you liked the way it sounded in his voice.

"Yes?"

"What about you... the gash on your cheek. Has it been cleaned?"

You reached up and touched the cut on the side of your face. The sting made you wonder how you had forgotten about it. "Oh, that. It's not a big deal. Like you mentioned, the infirmary is busy enough as it is."

"Who said anything about the infirmary, brat?" he shot back at you. Despite his words, his voice had no bite. "If you don't clean it, it will get infected. Come here." He patted the brisk white sheets beside him on the bed.

You frowned and sighed. "Fine." Knowing it was impossible to argue with him when he got like this, you sat down beside him. He turned and started rummaging around in the box that held his medical supplies again, until he came out with a clean rag and some alcohol.

"This will sting a little," he said, not at all apologetically. He dipped the rag in the alcohol, and then placed his other hand on the uninjured side of your face. You felt your cheeks heat up at the warmth from his palm on your smooth skin. His hand was rough, but not in a bad way. It merely was a testament to all the years he'd spent defending humanity. Once he touched the rag to your injury, though, all other thoughts left your mind and the only thing you were left with was -

" _Damn_! You weren't kidding." You smiled apologetically at your outburst. The skin was much more sensitive than the other injuries you've had treated in the past.

He smirked a little, shocking you. "That was almost a real cuss. Perhaps I'm a bad influence on you."

You laughed. "Something like that."

He finished cleaning your wound, and then you both fell into a comfortable silence.

"Levi?" you asked, uncertain if you even wanted to approach this topic.

"Hm?" he asked, looking up at you with an almost bored expression on his face.

"The song you were humming before... what was it?"

Levi froze. You immediately regretted asking the question and got up from the bed. "I'm sorry, it's none of my business, I shouldn't have asked."

He shook his head softly, his black bangs falling into his face. "No, it's alright. You just surprised me. I didn't know you heard."

You sat back down again carefully, but didn't say anything.

"It's a song I heard once, a long time ago, about a man who lost all of his friends."

You looked down at the floor. "I'm so sorry, Levi."

You felt something warm rest on top of your hand on your knee. You looked at Levi to see his hand sitting comfortably on yours, but he seemed to be looking at nothing in particular. "Don't be. I'm not the only one who lost friends today."

You fought it, but couldn't help the one tear that escaped your eye. You looked away in shame. This man didn't need to nor want to see your tears. The warmth atop your hand was suddenly gone, and you felt more alone than you did earlier.

Then it was back, turning your face towards his, his rough pad of his thumb brushing away the tear that fell on your uninjured cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispered, sounding almost ashamed.

Your eyes widened. The corporal never apologized, to anyone. "Why?"

His eyes looked away and his hands fell. "I've lost squads and friends before, but never... I was afraid. I didn't want to have to deal with -" He made a frustrated noise and balled his fists, an agitated look on his face. "Damn it, I'm acting like one of those shitty brats."

You gathered your courage and took one of his hands in yours. "Take your time, Levi."

He stared, fixated, at your small hands holding his larger one. He looked up to catch your eyes. "I've been pushing you away since we found out about the mission because -" He growled and pulled his hand from yours and took your face gently, pressing his lips to yours in a chaste, sweet kiss.

Your eyes widened and you stiffened immediately. Before you had a chance to respond, he pulled away and looked to the pristine floor of his bedroom, a pink tinge to his usually pale face. "I... I couldn't find the words and I -" His words were cut off when you pulled him back to you and returned his kiss with twice as much passion. He melted into it and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you to his chest and onto his lap. He pulled away for a quick second and looked into your eyes, before he leaned back in again, his hand slipping beneath your shirt, running up and down your spine. You shivered.

He ran his tongue along your bottom lip, asking for permission which you immediately granted, his tongue mingling with yours in a dance that you had know idea you've wanted so badly. Finally, only because you were both out of breath, he pulled away and rested his forehead against yours, tracing comforting circles on your lower back with his hand.

"[Name]... what I was trying to say earlier, is that... I love you." He looked at you with more emotion than you'd ever seen on his handsome face.

You caressed his sharp jaw and cheek and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I love you, too, shorty."

He snorted and lay back, pulling his injured leg up with him. He pulled the covers aside for you. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

He didn't show it in his voice, but you could see the uncertainty in his eyes, and you smiled. "Of course," you answered, crawling into the bed with him and nuzzling your face into his chest. He ran his fingers through your hair and hummed contentedly.

"[Name]... thank you."

You looked up at your lover, slightly confused. "For what?"

"For knowing that I needed you here, without me even having to say it."

You cuddled further into his warm chest and smiled, sleep finally inching it's way to your tired body.

Just as it was about to claim you, you heard Levi start the song again, but this time he added words that were sung quietly into your hair.

_Oh my friends, my friends forgive me_  
That I live and you are gone.  
There's a grief that can't be spoken.  
There's a pain goes on and on. 

_Oh my friends, my friends, don't ask me_  
What your sacrifice was for.  
Empty chairs at empty tables,  
Where my friends will sing no more. 

~

Levi finished his song, to hear [Name] snoring quietly against him. And for the first time in what might have been forever, he smiled.

The deaths from that day had left him feeling empty. But this woman, this amazing, kind woman, had never made Levi's heart feel anything but very, very _**full**_.

**Author's Note:**

> "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" belongs to Les Misérables and corresponding writers.


End file.
